Ad Undus
by athousandcolorsaway
Summary: Terra was exiled to fight the heartless, and has ended up in a world known as Cielo Luce, betrothed to a princess. He can't forget the girl he left behind... Aqua is convinced her first and only love, Terra, has forgotten her. When she finds out that Xehanort has been withholding information from her, she sets out on a quest herself... TerraxAqua. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Promises**

"Terra? If you're out there, and you forget me..."

"Aqua, you know that won't happen."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise. I'll never forget."

"When will you be back? How long has Xehanort banished you?"

"Until I die…" mumbled the brown haired boy.

"Terra!" whined the girl. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. You'll be together… again… someday._

"Then second I mend the rift with him, I'll be back. I promise, Aqua."

"Two promises, Terra?"

"Yes, I promise to keep both."

"Three promises." The boy leaned in to land a kiss on the lips of the blue haired maiden. When he pulled away the girl said. "My promise to you is to never, ever give up. I'm going to become a great Keyblade master… and you'll be there by my side when my hand is lifted at the celebration. When I'm put in charge of our world. And us and Ven- we'll rule like your father wanted it."

He slipped his hand in hers, touching the tiny charms she had made together.

"Promises, promises."

"One I intend to keep."

Then a dark hand reached out and took the boy.

She was being chased by hoards of the creatures. Dark, unwavering wherever she looked. Her keyblade wouldn't come. Her Keyblade needed to come.

The creatures bore down on her.

They were lead by the boy, saying things quietly, holding a single, deep black Keyblade.

The blue haired girl screamed and…

She woke up panting, in her bed. Her chest heaved. She looked down at her hand. Her charm. Where was her charm? A frantic look for it revealed that she had hidden it, beneath the pillow. She held it to her body. She felt the five points of the blue star, plagued with memories of him.

"Miss Aqua?" came the quiet voice. The bluenette was startled.

"Yes, Naminé?" Aqua turned to see the blonde approaching her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said.

"You screamed in your sleep." Naminé stepped back, running into the other maid, Kairi.

"No… it was just another bad dream."

"Aqua, was it a bad dream about Terra?"

"What?!" She jumped out of bed. "How do you know his name? Where'd you get information on him?"

Aqua towered above Naminé.

"Um… we got it from the stable boys."

"And what did they tell you?"

"You and Terra were in a secret relationship, but you as Master Eraqus's prize student and him as the Master's son and other Keyblade wielders and Keyblade wielders aren't allowed to be with other Keyblade wielders and he found out so he sent Terra away."

"What were these stable boy's names?"

"Sora and Roxas. The Hikari twins. And Riku Miyano. "

"Them, really?" Naminé nodded as her superior got a mischievous glint in her ocean-blue eyes.

* * *

Aqua approached the boys. The two that looked like each other, Sora and Roxas, were fighting with Keyblades, while the third boy, Riku, leaned against the short stone wall.

At one point, they had been hers and Terra's friends. Now, they seemed to treat her different. Well, everyone in the castle did, except for Ven, who was practically her brother, so he didn't count.

"Roxas! No fair!" Sora screamed as he was knocked to the ground and Roxas put his foot on his chest. The Keyblade Sora was holding dispersed.

"I thought that was pretty good quality a move." Riku stated.

"All because I'm younger doesn't mean I can't kick your sorry…"

"Ahem." Aqua coughed. They froze, looking to the Future Keyblade master. Roxas dispersed his Keyblades, removed his foot from Sora's chest and turned around.

"May we help you?" Roxas asked. Sora jumped up.  
"Miss. She's Miss Aqua. Show some respect. She knows about our keyblades."

Before Roxas could retort, Riku stepped up.

"What do you need, Miss Aqua?"

"Nothing."

"Good. Then you can leave. Goodbye." Roxas waved at her.

"Roxas, go tip the cows or something before you get us in trouble!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who intruded on another certain someone's **_moment of triumph_**!" Roxas' voice grew gradually louder.

"I'm sorry, did I walk in on something?"

"Yeah, actual-"

"No, Roxas is just naturally pissy. He's angry right now because he was about to call Sora a good long amount of perfectly horrible words." Riku said.

To that, Aqua poured out a 'good long amount of perfectly horrible words'. Everyone froze, except for Roxas.

"Okay, does that mean I can finish my sentence? All because you, Sora, are older, doesn't mean I can't kick your sorry-"

Aqua began to laugh. That made Roxas shut up, and the boys continued to stare at the girl. Her blue hair was bobbing up and down. She ran over to hug them.

"You haven't changed at all." The second she realized what she was doing, she steps back, and regaining her composure. They stood for a brief moment before the boys began to laugh.

It was like before she became the prize student. At this point, Terra would have proceeded to do something stupid, than they would laugh more. Until Master Eraqus came to find the two students of his and scold them for not being attached to their lessons. It was all in fun.

Then Eraqus died, and Xehanort took over.

They stopped laughing. _Once again with the awkward silence_, Aqua thought quietly.

"So, um, hey, Aqua." Riku said. "What brings you here?"

She paused, cleared her face of the unemotional cover, and said boldly, "I want to know what you three know about Terra." Next thing she knew, she's had Roxas's hands twisting her arm behind her back and Sora covering her mouth. Riku took a frantic look around the courtyard, then a run through the stables. He came back.

"Don't say that name in the open. You know what the master will do to us?" He shook his head. Aqua had forgot- Terra couldn't be spoken of. _Strange enough how Naminé knew anything about it._

"Come on." Sora removed his hand for a brief second, but Roxas didn't move. He held onto Aqua with a grip of pure iron. But Sora's mistake allowed Aqua to hiss words at Roxas.

"Let go of me! What if anyone see me here? You think it looks good for me to be walking around with a bunch of boys as a _hostage_? The future Master of this world?"

Roxas let her go.

"Thank you." She was led to a room in the back of the barn. She supposed this was the twin's room. Her suspicions could be confirmed by the differences in the room: there was one window, and two beds. The far bed, nearest to the window, wasn't neat. There was a pillow sitting at the foot, another two at the top in an L shape. That side of the tiny bedside table has ten stacked books, seven in one stack, three in the other. There were horse brushes on top of the taller stack, whereas the smaller stack had a couple of drawings on it. The side closer to Aqua was as immaculate as the other side messy. The bed was made up perfectly, there was one book on the bedside table, and it was obvious that Sora's mess was barely kept at bay.

Sora flopped down on his bed, and Roxas next to him. On the other side of Roxas, Riku sat on the floor, back against Sora's bed.

"What do you want to know about Terra?"

"Everything! Please, tell me what you know about him. Starting from after he left." Aqua sat primly on Roxas's bed, hands clasped.

"Well, he went through many worlds defeating unversed." Riku said.

"Unversed?"

"Fledgling emotions." Sora stated dully.

"Oh, yes, I remember learning about those." She felt like an idiot.

"So anyway, he kept fighting the Unversed. He finally stumbled on a world, and I'm pretty sure he spent some time there. It was rampant with darkness and unversed and these things called Heartless." Riku stopped talking, but Roxas continued.

"That's basically it. We told Namine everything before that and she probably told Kairi, but you can always ask The Master. He keeps in touch with Terra."

"What?!"

"You can ask Master Xehanort about Terra. They keep in tou-"

"The Master has had contact with _Terra_?"

"Yeah. You get letters, too. Don't you?" Sora said with a peaked eyebrow.

"I get letters? He actually wrote to me?!"

"Doesn't the Master give them to you?"

"I haven't had contact with Terra in three years." Aqua said, before getting up and turning to leave. "By the way… thank you."

She rushed out the door.

"Wow." Says Roxas. "She's desperate."

"If Naminé disappeared right now what would you do?" Riku said.

"Good point."

"And the fact that Xehanort's been lying to her…" Sora started.

"That man?" Riku answers. He scoffs. "I'm not all that surprised."

* * *

Aqua stormed into the castle.

Xehanort had been keeping letters from her! Letters from Terra! Letters he knew would make her happy. Letters he knew would make her work harder. Hell, the man could've bribed her with the damn things!

"Someone's in a bad mood." Vanitas bit into an apple in front of Aqua. Great, now she had to deal with **_this_** sadist.

"Where the hell is your master?"

"Someone's using language." With that, Aqua pulls the younger boy's shirt until he is barely inches away from her. Her face is so close to his face that another three inches and their lips could have touched.

"Look, I am the Keyblade Master of this land! You are an arrogant, cocky **_trainee_**! Now tell me where your master is or so help your heart…"

"He's upstairs. Jeez, you really wondering where he is? He's always up there."

"Thank you." Aqua, with a look of distain, dropped the boy and disappeared up the stairs. She brushed past Ven in the hallway.

"Aqua, you okay?"

"Not at all, Ven."

"Why?"

"Have you been getting letters from Terra?"

"No."

"Never mind, Ven."

"Aqua! Please, tell me!" Aqua sighed at the young trainee's insistence.

"The stable boys- the Hikari Twins? They told me that I've been getting letters from Terra. But I haven't heard anything about Terra since he left."

"Really, you think Xehanort's been…"

"Master Xehanort, Ventus. Now, why am I in your conversation?" said the Master of the Land of Departure.

"May I speak to you privately, sir?"

"Yes, Aqua, you may. Ven, run along and work on your spells."

"Yes, sir." Ven sighed, but dis as he was told.

"Come, Aqua," said the Master, turning to walk to his study.

They entered the lavish room. It was furnished quite simply- the emblem that every Keyblade apprentice wore, a wooden desk, bookshelves along either wall, two armchairs in front of a fireplace, and a window that overlooked the training area. There was also a small basin of water in the corner.

"Now, sit. What do you need to talk to me about?" The master sat down in one armchair, but Aqua refused.

"Sir, I want to know where my letters are."

"What letters?"

"The ones from Terra. Where are they?"

"Not a clue." Xehanort smiled.

"You know where they are!" Aqua yelled, looking him dead in the eye. "I know I've been receiving them! The stable boys- my friends- they told me I've been receiving them! But you intercept all mail and keep them from me!"

"What a girl, speaking to her Master like so."

"You are not my master. A Master is kind and loving, a Master doesn't show favoritism. A Master treats his apprentices as human beings! A Master is Eraqus, not you!"

"Insolent girl!" Xehanort stood up, his eyes flaming. "I have told you- do not mention Eraqus!"

"Why? Because it pains you to hear of your dear friend, who has gone off and died in the clutches of ruthless beings of the heart? Because you know you killed him and-"

"Shut that mouth on your pitiful face, or I shall do so for you!"

"Why should I? You're not my master. I have the castle on my side! I have Keyblade Wielders on my side! I-"

Xehanort stormed over and pushed the blue haired girl into the wall, holding her there.

"You may be a Master by Eraqus's choice, but you will never be a Master to me! And you will never be Master of The Land of Departure! Give up! You want the letters, then work for the letter, give me something in return."

"Never will I give you anything." She scoffed, before hissing in pain as the older man tightened his grip on her arm.

"Think again. If I need to, I can and I will change everything. I will change this precious land of yours, I will hand it to Vanitas."

"Never will I let you do so." She menacingly said, holding her ground.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"I am always sure before I do something."

"Well, this is something I'm doing."

"And I am sure to stop you! Now, give me my letters from Terra, you son of a…"

"Aqua?" She glanced about, her gaze immediately softening.

"Terra?"

"Why are you in Xehanort's study?"

"Where are you?" She glanced again around the room before finding the only discernible spot: the basin of water! Yes! It must be a spell enchanted… but by who? She rushed over to the water to find Terra's reflection looking up at her.

"Terra…" She breathed, reaching down to touch the water. His image merely ripples out, before coming back in.

"Get away from there!" Xehanort yelled, racing towards her at whirlwind speed.

"I know everything now! Xehanort's been stealing my letters from you! That's why I haven't been answering! Terra! Terra!" She yells as Xehanort grabbed her arm. She clutched the sides of the basin. "Stop hurting me! Terra! I'm going to find you. Where are you?"

"Cielo… Luce… Aqua, I'm in Cielo Luce! You'll find it. Follow the river, Aqua, and you will come to…"

Gone. He is gone.

"Idiot girl!" Master Xehanort raised his hand to strike her, leaving a painful red mark on Aqua's cheek. "That water was worth more than your life."

"Then I am happy…" She spit out the word like it was soured milk, ignoring the flames on her cheek. "That you will never again have the chance to use it."

Xehanort's rage multiplies. He grabbed her arm, dragging her through the hallway. He throws the girl into a dark, empty room.

"Now stay here before I change my mind and inflict worse." He slams the door, locking it from the outside. Aqua knows it's no use to try and open it, even with her Keyblade. That would make him angry. She doesn't even cry, though she wants to.

_Cielo Luce. _Repeats the voice in her head. _Cielo Luce. I'm in Cielo Luce. You'll find it. Follow the river and you will….If only she knew what he was going to finish saying. Follow the river. _She realized. _That's exactly what I'll do to find Terra. Cielo Luce. _

She summons her Keyblade and chopped off her wavy blue locks.

"These have to go first…"

* * *

**_So? Enjoy it? If you did, I ask you politely to review. If I don't get any good reviews, I'll not post much more. However, _****_I do know where this story will end, and I have the epilogue written. I write ending drafts before the beginnings, SO... _****_This was barely edited, so if you find any spelling errors or something, please tell me. Also, if I grammatically messed up, tell me. _**

**_I don't wanna make any actual promises before the story is continued, so a longer note will be in chapter 2 if it gets posted._**

**_The title is Latin for "To The Waves" but (according to Wikipedia) can also mean "to hell" so I thought it went well for the story._**

**_Thanks for reading,_**

**_Lily-Flower-Chan_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Are**

"Aqua, you forgot me." The brown haired boy hugged his lover tighter, softly caressing her hair.

"I haven't. I haven't forgotten you." She whispered back. "But you're forgetting me. Where are your letters? Where are you, Terra? Are you even still mine?"

He can hear her voice, seductive; her mouth sits lightly on his ear.

"Yes. Yours, always. I love you…" He hisses as her nails dig into the back of his neck.

"It hurts, Terra! You're always hurting me!" She says, trembling, before pushing him away. "You're hurting me."

Her eyes close, eyelids still fluttering. They are all around him; Unversed. Her Unversed.

They were coming from her, exploding from her emotions.

"Terra, you've left me! You left me alone to die! Terra, you've hurt me. He hurts me. Hurt. It's all I have left!" She says, lifting her arms to the sky and grasping two pure black Keyblades. As she brings them down, they meld to become one.

"It's all your fault, Terra. All your fault…" She drags out the last word. Terra turned to run before she rose in front of him, her blue hair flowing in the breeze behind her.

"Why?" He whispered as her Keyblade came down upon his head…

He slammed into the air above his bed. Aqua… he couldn't have hurt her. Letters… he sent them every week. What did she mean, no letters?

_He hurts me… _Who hurts her? Not Ven. Vanitas? The boy was a bother. Terra knew him for a maximum of 55 minutes, but he was a troublesome little imp and he had a crush on Aqua. But Aqua avoided him so the last person was…

"Xehanort…" he hissed. The old man was cruel. Whenever he would take to the water to find him, Xehanort wouldn't let him talk to Aqua. He didn't mention Aqua unless Terra did, and he practically ignored him even when he asked for the three apprentices. So, he had been in love with Aqua. Big deal. Don't blame Ven for that 'mistake' that wasn't his fault, much less a mistake. Let him see Ven, if nothing else!

"Terra, sweetheart." Came her overly melodious voice. It wasn't like Aqua's, smooth like a river, her voice was like walking on glass and making an orchestra. Forced and fake.

"Chassindry, please don't call me that." He says, turning his head to see the girl. Her platinum blonde locks with feathery red wisps are straight and perfect, as usual. It looked as though blood was streaming down her head, starting at the scalp and ending at the tips.

"You're trembling." She sing-songs.

"And you're going to leave my room now." He lays back down and flips over, away from where the Princess of Cielo Luce was sitting.

"Sweetie, I can help."

"No you can't. Don't even pretend you can."

"But sweetie, if it's about the girl, then you can just tell me. She's long gone and moved on." She reached out to pet down his hair, but he recoiled from her touch. His hand traveled under the pillow to find his orange wayfinder.

_'She isn't, and soon enough, I'll go back to her. I promised. What are promises but truths in advance?"_

Terra sighs, forcing another spoonful of the stew into his mouth. Hiding in the kitchen again.

"What's wrong today, Terra?" Xion says in a bored tone. She stirs the stew still in the pot.

"Nothing."

"You lie. How's the stew?"

"Fine."

"Are you listening to me? Terra?" When she received no answer, Xion turned around. Terra was looking at her through half-closed eyes. He wasn't even on this earth, much less listening. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he jumped. The stew sloshed down her dress, and she frowned. "Terra…"

"Sorry, Shi, here…" He handed her a dish rag from the counter, and she started wiping her shirt with it. She couldn't get the dark orange sauce stain off, no matter how she tried. She put the rag down and leaned against the table.

"It's no use! Ugh!" She leaned into the table, her head in her hands.

"I'm really sorry, Shi." He said, patting her back. "I was just lost in thought, and I thought you were Chassindry…"

"No, no, it's okay, I'm just the kitchen girl, anyway… it's not like anyone will see, I'm not on serving duty tonight…" Just as Xion stood up, Chassindry came into the kitchen.

"Terra! I finally found you." She approached him and hugged him. He did not reciprocate. Over his shoulder, Chassindry saw the serving girl. She pushed Terra away. "What happened to you?"

"Eep!" Xion squeaked. "I, uh, uh… Terra and the uh…"

"I spilled my stew on her." Terra said. Xion exhaled when he didn't blame her, but startled again when Chassindry talked.

"Well, why are you still here?" Xion scurried back to the stove. The princess turned back to Terra. "Well, come on, you've missed so much!"

Terra had his wrist taken in her little bony hand. He looked back at Xion. He mouthed a small 'I'm sorry.' She turned back to the stove as he was dragged from the kitchen.

"I cannot understand why you spend time with the servants!" Chassindry exasperated. "They're not there to be friends, they're there to do work!"

"And I'm here because…"

"Because you had a debt to pay!"

"It's been three years. Am I not allowed to leave by now? There's no Unversed or Heartless anymore. Cielo Luce is safe."

"Maybe you should sit around court more often."

Terra didn't mind Chassindry, but she annoyed him. She was always talking to him, hanging around him, and he easily tired of her and her talking. She was everything Aqua wasn't. Chassindry made it obvious that only those on her level were worth her time. Chassindry was conniving and secretive. Her status didn't help her personality much. But Terra, like everyone else, had to deal with it. It was all he could do.

Her father had saved his life. And, according to this culture, he owed them something. This thing, he had agreed with the king, would be tracking down and getting rid of the Heartless and Unversed that terrorized the world. Terra had supposed that it was only fair.

If only he had known that Chassindry was the side dish.

Terra looked through the hallways for anyone who could help. Terra was alone with Chassindry and given the night before, he probably shouldn't have been.

When he saw Aerith, tending to the second floor veranda of potted plants, he pleaded silently for help. Aerith understood immediately.

"Miss?" She called, racing after the pair. Terra sighed. Chassindry turned around with a look on her face that radiated anger.

"What do you want?"

"I need you to tell me if my flowers look okay."

"They look fine." Chassindry stepped back. Aerith's hands were covered in dirt from the potting of plants. Chassindry hated dirt. She loathed it with a passion. It was obvious to anyone with eyes, but it was especially obvious around Aerith and the other gardeners, who were constantly covered with it.

"No, no, you need to see…" Aerith reached out. The princess stepped back. She stumbled into Terra, then startled forward- right into Aerith. Chassindry squealed as the dirt from Aerith's hands got on her arm.

"Ew! That's disgusting!"

"Sorry, sorry, I lost my head there for a-"

"I'm going to wash the dirt off. Terra, don't move!" Chassindry stomped off down the hallway, startling a pair of guardsmen on the way.

"Aerith! That was great!"

"Oh… well, thanks, Terra."

"No, Aerith, you deserve thanks. Not only was the look on her face priceless, but she's gone!"

"What was that about?" asked one of the guards, a blonde named Demyx. Terra liked Demyx most of the time. When he was drunk and when he decided to play his sitar in the middle of the night were when Terra wanted to strangle him.

"Terra needed to escape Chassindry again." Aerith said with a smile.

"One day, you should just slug the girl." Demyx said.

"That would not be wise." Luxord turned to Demyx "Your gameplan is horrid."

"Whatever." Demyx leaned back against the wall.

"I don't hit girls." Terra said.

"Chivalry." Aerith crossed her arms.

"So what?"

"What about Aqua?" Aerith leaned in, then back out.

"She's different."

"She's a girl, and she's my age."

"But you've never met Aqua." Terra said. Aerith rolled her eyes.

"Why are you still here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You should be running away! Chassindry could be back any second."

"Oh."

"And he says oh!" Aerith rolled her eyes yet again. Demyx and Luxord both chuckled, and Terra laughed along. Suddenly, a black haired girl was staring them down. Terra startled backwards.

"Yuffie!"

"Axel needs you! There's an attack on the fourth ward, west section!" She said to Terra, ignoring Aerith.

"Yuffie Kisaragi!"

"What, Aerith?"

"What have I told you about ceilings and climbing _and _dropping in on people's conversations?"

"To not to. But this was important, Aerith~!" Yuffie dropped down from the ceiling, whining at her friend.

"Thanks, Aerith. Thank you, Yuffie." Terra turned away, and half-ran from the scene.

The streets of the South Ward were empty. Terra had his Keyblade out, over his shoulder. His friend, a redhead named Axel, was talking too much and too loud.

"So you say you had this dream about the girl…"

"Aqua."

"How do you know her name is Aqua?"

"I grew up with her."

"Yeah, yeah, on a different world. In a different world. Say, when it's a different world, are you in it or on it?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Terra hissed.

"Okay, so this Aqua chick who you haven't seen in years but you grew up with, comes into your dream, and attacks you by summoning a giant key like yours?"

"_Two_ giant keys. And they're called Keyblades." Terra turned around to look at his friend.

"And what are they? They are giant keys. And you should duck." Terra did as Axel said, and within a second, there was a heartless dead at Axel's hands. Axel smiled and the little golden heart floated up and disappeared into the air.

"Thanks."

"No problem… but you should turn around before thanking me." Terra did as Axel said and got exactly what he expected, which was a hoard of shadows running about the town. Terra sighed. This is what he had been pulled here for? Ten inconsequential shadows? He rolled his eyes and raced towards them. It was the quickest deletion of Heartless he had ever performed. Axel didn't even have a chance to move.

Now Terra was annoyed. This day had been horrid, starting with the dream, Chassindry, and now this useless job. They walked through the empty streets, killed a few heartless separated from the main group, and finally stopped for ice cream. Ice cream was Axel's thing. He swore he loved every type, but Terra found that hard to believe when all he ate was sea salt. Terra got sea-salt this time around a well, dropping a pair of coins into the seller's hand. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"A little out there?" He said, smirking.

"I'm allowed to differ from my usual chocolate, thank you very much." Terra then added. "And you can't say anything about, you _only_ eat sea salt."

They walked along in silence, eating the ice creams.

"Tell me again about the chick and your home."

"Girl." Terra stated bluntly. "Don't call them chicks."

"Okay, tell me!" Axel had obviously brushed the comment right off.

"I grew up in a world known as the Land of Departure. It was my dad, me, my brother Ventus, and…" He breathed in deep. "Aqua. Aqua was two years younger, but you would never know it with how much she acted like she was older. And Dad took her in from her world, because she could wield a Keyblade. When she's especially angry, she'll get this accent that just drips of her home, I can't even mimic it. 'Oh, Terra-' I can't, see? Well, when I was about sixteen I guess we just kinda told each other that we loved each other, and we somehow kept our relationship a secret. But then my father died, and Xehanort, one of his friends, brought his apprentice and took over the world. The little imp apprentice- Vanitas- caught me and Aqua, and told his master. Master Xehanort exiled me. Because he could get away with it. Because my father had left the world to me and Aqua, together, and we couldn't rule it, one without the other." He shook his head. "So I ended up here."

The two were silent as they walked through the world. Now Heartless-free, it was just a peaceful place.

Cielo Luce was a city of stone. The streets were gray, smooth stones set in mortar, and the houses ranged from lovely yellow sandstones to red clay bricks to light purple-gray stones like the streets. The palace sat at the peak of the island; it was black granite. It stood out against the bright colors of the four wards.

The four wards were extremely different. They worked on levels. The highest level, first ward, which directly circled the castle, was the richest. Its houses were white marble, blue shutters and red tile roofs. These people employed those from the lower districts, nobility at it's finest, but it also encompassed the higher ranking guards of the castle, like Axel, and the most important of the court.

The second level was inhabited by the castle's servants. These houses were made of yellow sandstone, and were ornamental, carved to the owners profession or liking, sometimes as far as to carve entire murals into sides of houses. Among the sandstone, there were white marble houses with doorways of the yellow and reddish-gold rock of the neighbors for the better-paid guards. Red brick houses sat for the few poorer of the servants. The entire level was overflowing with potted plants in clay pots, painted brightly in blues, purples, and reds. The yellow, as it was once explained, became an eyesore.

The third level, and the third ward, was for what was considered middle-class. Red brick houses with basic slate shingles dominated the area, but there were bursts of the sandstone and marble, and some houses had extreme designs formed from stucco. Every house had a porch, windows were abundant, and the houses were perhaps the best kept of the entire city. The people here knew friends of friends, drama ensued regularly, and many were caught with nasty rumors or elaborate lies on people that had considered them friends.

But Terra's favorite ward was the fourth, and the level was the cheeriest. Its people weren't rich, and many could testify that some nights, they stayed up with growling in their stomach. But the people took hardship with grace. The people were the kindest. The children would race through the streets of the houses of all different sizes and colors. The rich could live in the sandstone, and the poor in white marble. The children could have long, dark hair, and big black eyes, poorer than dirt, and be best friends with the freckled blonde daughter of a different pay and profession. And there was always laughter. Throaty laughs and melodic trills all echoed about the walls. People putting out the washing talked with the neighbors making traditional bread in the stone ovens, and walking through town with a single friend talking about the weather could escalate to a well respectable debate with many of the townspeople over a philosophy that storms were harbingers of a poor financial year.

The best part of the fourth ward, however, sat a riser lower. The view of the sea, the horizon, and the setting sun. The best place to watch was from the wall that marked the beginning of the poorest level. It was ten feet high, and there were staircases all along its length. Behind them was the city, and in front of them was the sun. It burned yellow, red, hazy purple as it lowered to its nightly sleep; and straining their eyes, through the purple fog were the first stars.

_Every star out there is another world… _What she had always told him and Ven. _I'm not sure exactly which, but up there, one of those star, is my home._ Ven didn't like that thought, that Aqua didn't consider the Land of Departure her home. _I miss it still. But it's okay. I have you guys, and your dad now… _Ven would smile, and she would talk more about the different worlds. _There's one where they just have flowers everywhere, the whole world is practically a garden. And my favorite to hear about when I was younger was the one where they live under water. There's always music, all the time. _And the day she gave them their good luck charms, she had talked about the world, his favorite. _It's all beaches. And there's this tree with star shaped fruit. The fruit represents an unbreakable connection. It reminds me, all the worlds are connected to each other, even if they are unaware of it. Unbreakably connected. Every single star and every single world…_

He sat up from his day dream. His ice cream was long gone. It was nearing dangerously to dinner, so he got up.

"Axel, we should go." He said. The redhead nodded, hopping up from the wall.

Niether spoke a word as the went solemnly to the castle.

Of course, when Chassindry saw him, she almost fainted. He was sweating! And he was in the exact same clothes as earlier! No, no, that simply wouldn't do. He needed to go change into respectable dinner clothes. Clothes that look nice, mind him, because they were eating with the nobility of the court. Don't take forever.

He sighed and trudged up the steps. There was no Aerith to save him that time, and now he had to fraternize with rich snobs that argued about how the world should be run for a living. He hated it. And with Aqua on his mind, how could he ever survive.

There was only one thing he could think: contact his home world. This was easy. The water was some sort of magic. Anytime he wanted, he could reach back to his old world, talk to his master. Maybe, a very big maybe, the Master would let him see Aqua.

So, upon reaching his room, he went to the back of his closet and uncovered the water. He summoned his Keyblade, and much like how a key would be locked, placed it in the water and turned, thinking thoughts of home. As it shimmered, he smiled. Home.

But his happiness was short lived. The first thing he heard was a fight.

Something about being sure, something about stopping, and something about letters. Master Eraqus and…

"Aqua?" He said aloud. Her voice called back, soft.

"Terra?" Before he realized she wasn't looking at him, he asked a question.

"Why are you in Xehanort's study?" Almost as soon as he finishes, she is looking down at the water. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Terra…" She reached out, as if to touch him. The image disappeared for a moment. When it came back, Xehanort was screaming. He didn't hear him. He only heard and saw her.

"I know everything now! Xehanort's been stealing my letters from you!" His letter sent by world hoppers had been received then… "That's why I haven't been answering! Terra! Terra!" She grimaces as if in pain. "Stop hurting me! Terra I'm going to find you! Where are you?!"

"Cielo… Luce…" He could barely speak between his happiness, his anger, and his wonderment. "I'm in Cielo Luce! You'll find it. Follow the river, Aqua, and you will come to sea... The sea is the sky and the sky is the sea…"

It takes a moment for him to realize she is gone. The water is just water.

What happened? His first thought was that the incantation had been lifted… but then he realized that she was using the water's container for support. She would have taken it with her had she fell. She said she was going to find him…

Terra stepped back from the water, stumbling into his closet wall. He slid down the wall. He definitely wasn't going to dinner now.

* * *

**Well, this certainly took long enough. _Yes, I still want your comments. Because this was written between the hours of 10 and 11:30 pm on a Sunday. I just typed... and came up with this. Again, there was minimal editing._**

**_I'm really sorry it took so long. I could rant, but basically, I'm in all the advanced classes, so I have literally finished two books, done extensive study guides for EVERY SINGLE CLASS, and I have the hardest science teacher in the district. He gave us four experiments, one report, and a final. On top of that, I had about a billion presentations to do. And, my obsessiveness led me to take on a fourth instrument. So now, I play tuba! Can't wait for marching band. I'm done with school._**

**_I had a bit of writers block in the middle there (after the ice cream, before the houses) but I love the way this turned out! I loved describing Cielo Luce. It's based mostly off of this one city in Tunisia called Sidi Bou Said, but more colorful, and it has definite roots in one of my actual original stories' countries (Deresques is the city-state). _****_And Chassindry is the most annoying character that I've ever written. She just so over the top, I love her. :3_**

**_So, again, please review. Thanks for reading. I'm tired and I'm going to bed and it's still freezing where I live._**

**_Lily_**


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